Improvisational sketch leadership
The phrase “live workshop” contains two concepts. Most of us focus on the “workshop” part – reading the topics and activities to ensure it teaches what we want to learn. This engages our analytical brain which asks “what will I get out of this?” But it’s easy to overlook the importance of the “live” part, […]
A First Team Mindset
Episode 22 When you as the manager treat your peers, other managers in the organizations as your first team, it changes your stance. It changes the way you work. It creates intentionally a set of allies you can problem-solve, people problem-solve with, people you can collaborate with. This is a little bit different idea than […]
Designing problems is harder than it looks…
“Today you’re going to learn lessons about delegation, communication, observation, and team alignment. More importantly, you’ll learn about yourself and the impact you have on those around you. You’ll receive the instructions once you’re in your learning groups.” The small learning groups move to their zoom videoconference rooms, where they receive their instructions. “It is […]
An audiobook, a workshop, and slack – oh my!
I’ve got a few updates for you, my fellow ruckus makers in tech. First, I’m excited to announce a 100% complete revamp of Software Leader Seminar into a hands-on, on-line workshop. No videos, no forums, no BS. This is unlike anything I’ve seen or done and is similar to my in-person workshops. It’s five weeks […]
Learning to Handle Uncertainty
Episode 21 Does project work feel like a guessing game? What happens when projects go off track, and how can this affect customer relationships? Better yet, how can we navigate uncertainty when we estimate and plan — but things still go wrong? Standing in uncertainty, learning to handle it, and living in inquiry are topics […]
Buy your toothpaste when you get there
When you’re heading into a new situation, it’s easy to overpack. The first time I went to Europe I packed my favorite heavy, long-sleeved flannel shirt, even though the trip was in the middle of summer. When I started a new coding project, I’d download a whole bunch of libraries just in case. When I […]
Managing to Solve An Elegant Puzzle with Will Larson
Episode 20 At Stripe, guest Will Larson received his first official management training by an employer. It taught him about different management styles, problem-solving, and more. But most employees don’t get management training, which can cause problems down the road. Marcus and Will discuss this, plus what it takes to handle leadership roles. […]
The leader’s blind-spot
Manager, leaders, and consultants all suffer from the same blind spot. We may recommend others do things which we’ve not done ourselves. This may make us blind to how difficult something actually is. For example, in the past, I’ve recommended that new people keep an ‘onboarding journal’ for the first month at the company. Now […]
Building good relationships are the key to everything you want
When it comes to building high-performing teams, your relationship with your developers is more important than their technical skills. While technical skills are important, strong developer–manager relationships are the keys to everything you want. Healthy relationships among employees and leaders produce high levels of engagement, motivation, trust, and transparency. These relational attributes are the foundation […]
Monkeys and Rocks with Matt Greenberg
Episode 19 If a friend asks you to help them move something heavy, like a rock, you probably wouldn’t think twice. But if they asked you to take care of their pet monkey… That’s the beginning of our chat with Matt Greenberg, Vice President of Engineering at Credit Karma, who compares problems of various types […]
It’s impossible to keep your balance
[SPONSOR] – Effortlessly manage your engineering team with Humble Dot. I crave certainty. I want certainty about project outcomes, spending decisions, and even travel plans. Somewhere I learned that idea that if I make right decisions, and try hard enough, then I’ll get good outcomes. Oh, I’ve had some failures. A project didn’t come in […]
Dynamic Reteaming with Heidi Helfand
Episode 18 The only constant is change. Heidi Helfand knows a thing or two about changes in organizations. From re-teaming to re-organizations to just shuffling a member or two, in this episode we’ll learn how to think about these inevitable changes and what to do when they happen. Show Notes What are some […]
My mistaken motivation mindset
The people on your team are motivated. But they are not motivated by the same thing. One programmer might be motivated by “cutting-edge technology.” Another by “software quality”, and a third by “system scalability.” These fall under the motivational factor Fredrick Herzberg termed, “the work itself.” Your motivation You are also motivated, but maybe not by […]
Does the “point velocity” of a scrum team matter?
I find myself subtly drawn to binary questions, though I wish I weren’t. Binary questions have yes/no answers. They ask people to line up on one side or another. They polarize, draw lines, and take sides. They create stability around an issue, which works against agility. The split us into groups of believers and non-believers […]
Putting the Emotion Into EQ with Etienne de Bruin
Episode 17 Emotional intelligence is essential to good leadership, but many CTO’s stress the importance of IQ instead. To move from contributor to manager, it’s a good idea to invest the time to explore EQ, as well as personality profiles to better understand how to manage people. Show Notes Managing expectations Emotional Intelligence […]